My husband, two teenage sons and I went to CR over spring break Mar. 22-Apr. 2. We flew into Liberia which has a very small airport (arrivals is basically a hanger). We stayed overnight at the Best Western El Sitio (close to the airport). The next morning we were picked up by private transfer to go the Arenal. The road had its bad spots but was not horrendous and the scenery was beautiful. We stayed at the Montana de Fuego in an upstairs room in the lodge. It worked well for our family as it had 2 double beds and a single. We had a beautiful view of the volcano out the front and the forest out the back. We didn't have a car so we took taxis everywhere and they were cheap and efficient. We went to the Hanging Bridges, Tabacon Hot Springs, Arenal Paraiso Canopy Tour, La Fortuna Water Falls and Ecotermales Hot Springs. We found that taking taxis, then paying admission fees to Hanging Bridges and the Fortuna Water Falls etc. was cheaper than taking an organized tour through the hotel.
We were only able to get into Tabacon at night as it was booked solid that week. It was disappinting not being able to see it during the day but were really glad we at least got in to see it at night. Stunning! Ecotermales was beautiful as well. It is a small family run hot springs and they have a restaurant. After soaking in the spings,we had a wonderful dinner served by the owner's sons? who were very pleasant and helpful.
The Arenal Paraiso Canopy tour was a lot of fun. I wrote to the forum before leaving as I am afraid of heights. I received a lot of positive feedback from people about doing the canopy tours which made me decide to go for it. I'm so glad I did it and my husband and sons say it was the highlight of their trip.
Another thing we did that I would recommend would be to go to the Crocodile Farm in La Fortuna. It is just a small place (Fee $2 or $3) but we had a wonderful l4 year old guide who let us hold small crocodiles.
We took taxis ($5)to La Fortuna for suppers (restaurant at our resort was pricey)and had some very nice inexpensive meals.
On the last night we went to Mirador Kioro Restaurant and the clouds parted and let us see the red glow and a short burst of spewing lava from the volcano.
We had the same driver (Liberia to Arenal) take us to Tamarindo. We stayed at the Barcelo Playa Langosta, an all inclusive just south of Tamarindo. The Barcelo was very nice, the food just OK. The beach is a surfing beach with strong currents (not for swimming). There is an estuary right beside the resort and we booked the kayak estuary tour through the Iguana Surf tour booth on the resort for $35/person $l40 for our family. We found out later that the resort offered the same tour for free through the entertainment staff. We feel that the resort shouldn't allow tour booths on the resort to offer this tour when the resort does it for free.
We walked into Tamarindo several times. It is about a 20 minute walk along a dusty dirt road. Tamarindo is a funky little surfer town and has lots of shops and restaurants and a beautiful beach.
We had an early morning flight out of Liberia so we had the El Sitio in Liberia booked for our last night. We didn't want to hang around Liberia for the last day so we planned to have our same driver pick us up from the Barcelo in the morning, drop our lugguage off at the El Sitio and then take us up to Ricon de la Vieja for the afternoon. Ricon is about a 1 1/2 hour drive north of Liberia (it's not that far but the road is not paved and rough). We arrived at the park around 1:30 p.m. and took the Las Pailas loop which took us by hot bubbling mud pots and steaming fumaroles. It took about 2 hours to do the hike which was perfect as the park closed at 4 p.m.
Our flight left early the next morning. I would recommend getting to the airport early as they were hand checking everyone's check-on luggage. By the time we got to the front of the line, they must have decided to speed things up and check every 2nd person's luggage. It is a very small airport and our plane was the only one there.
One great tip I got from this forum was a currency converter chart. I printed it off the internet, $ to Colones on one side and Colones to $ on the other (about the size of a credit card). This was really handy!
In conclusion, we loved Costa Rica and its friendly people and hope to go again.

So glad you decided to go on the canopy tour & enjoyed it! Sounds like your family had a wonderful trip. And you got to see Arenal, which seems pretty much hit or miss. Thanks for posting your report.

How long were you in arenal. You did so much. Tell me about the ecotermales, if you wouldn't mind. Did you book it yourself or through the hotel?

basj We were in Arenal for 3 1/2 days. It was our favourite part of our trip. You need to make reservations for Ecotermales and we contacted them by phone while we were in Arenal (506)479-8484. I believe it was $15/person admission. I can't remember the cost for supper. It was the same price for everyone and served family style.

Calgail,

WE have two full days there. How do you think we should spend them?

Way to go on the canopy tour! It definitely "stretches" those of us who share that paralyzing fear! Sounds like you had a blast at Arenal. And I agree about the estuary tour--what a bummer. That would not please me! As for Tamarindo, it can be quite enjoyable if you take it for what it is. I would love to have seen it years ago before it was transformed. . . .

basj Our first choice would be to go to Tabacon Hot Springs. We also enjoyed the Hanging Bridges for its beautiful rainforest trail and bridges. The canopy tour was also a big hit with our family. Eco Termales is nice for an evening and dinner. I would probably cross the water falls off my list. Hope this helps.

shillmac

Thanks for your encouragement with the canopy tour. As I mentioned, we had so much fun. Tamarindo is a neat little town and it's growing fast. There was a lot of construction while we were there.

You're welcome! Hate to hear of MORE construction in Tamarindo--Burger King, no less? YUK!